


About Time

by Izzy_Valentyn



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Gen, Nessian - Freeform, and then some other things, if you know what i mean, just some admissions of feelings, post-hybern
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-02-03 02:34:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12739233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzy_Valentyn/pseuds/Izzy_Valentyn
Summary: Nesta finally agrees to try this mate thing out.





	1. Admission

Nesta woke with a start, a cry lodged in her throat. She sat in bed for a moment, catching her breath and doing her best to ignore that was running through her head, that had almost burst from her mouth.

Her feelings for the damned Illyrian were obvious – had been since the battle against Hybern; in how she had yelled for him, tried to protect him. But between mourning her father and outright denial of her feelings, she hadn’t seen Cassian in weeks.

And yet there he was, in her dreams – nightmares. She relived the battle sometimes, in the night. And that was fine. She had gotten used to it, more or less. What she never got used to was the prospect of Cassian dying; it still threatened to tear her apart as it had in the moment, despite her knowing full well that he was healed, alive (Feyre kept her annoyingly up to date).

Once her breathing returned to normal, Nesta got up and pulled on a robe before quietly walking out of her room and making her way up to the roof of the townhouse. It was quiet there and people rarely followed her, so she found herself on the roof a lot, just gazing over the beautiful city that had become her home.

She had been sitting only a few minutes when she heard the flap of wings, followed by a soft but strong landing behind her. She didn’t have to look.

“Why are you here?”

“Something scared you,” Cassian said, walking up and sitting near her, making sure to keep plenty of space between them. “ _Has been_ scaring you.”

“And you waited until now to find me?” After all these weeks?”

“I know better than to let myself into your room.” He chuckled and Nesta hated the warmth she felt blossom in her chest. “Besides,” he continued. “it’s not as if you made any effort to come see me while I was injured.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I’m not saying that it’s not. I’m just saying that not seeing someone for weeks when we have the same friends and live in the same houses... kind of feels like someone was going out of their way to avoid something.”

 “Cassian...” Nesta sighed.

 “Nesta...” Cassian mimicked. “I don’t care if you were avoiding me. It’s nothing new.”

 They sat in silence for a moment.

“I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you,” Nesta said softly. “It goes so deep in me and it frightens me.” She glanced down at her feet before looking at Cass for the first time in weeks. “I want you so badly, all of the time, and I thought not being around you would help, but it just...It never stops.”

“Do you want it to stop?” Cassian asked softly.

She shook her head a little, pushing her hair back. “No... I don’t think so. I want to stop being afraid of it...”

“Why are you afraid?”

Nesta shook her head. “It just seems so... intense. I see what Feyre and Rhys have and they’re just...”

“Intense?” he interjected.

“Intense,” she agreed chuckling a little. “And I know we have that – I feel it – I just – Stop looking so _smug_ , Cassian.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just... really nice to hear. Continue.”

She shook her head, fighting smile. “Anyway. I’m open to it, for the most part, but... I don’t know. It’d be a big step. I’ve never been in a serious relationship.”

“I mean. I haven’t been in one in... quite a while. We’re not all that different, Ness.”

“I beg to differ – last time I checked, I wasn’t a semi-self-absorbed idiot.”

“I consider the fact that you said “semi” a compliment.”

“You’re something aren’t you?” She moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Your something?” He put an arm around her.

“Cassian...” She couldn’t stop herself from nestling closer, settling into his warmth.  “Yeah. I guess.”

“We don’t have to rush into anything – we can definitely just... Continue like this for a little while. Maybe with less avoiding and more conversation, if you’re okay with that – but I just. I’d like to –”

“-try?”

“Yes. And if you end up not wanting me, I can deal with that – I can learn to deal with it. But I don’t want us to just ignore it anymore.”

Nesta nodded a little. “That’s... fair.”

Cass nodded as well. “So...”

“Good night.” She kissed his cheek gently before getting up and making her way back to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nesta and Cassian celebrate the solstice together...

            Slow doesn’t work when your instincts beg for it, when you’re _ravenous_ for it.

            So, despite the promise to take it slow, Cassian and Nesta were like a rubber band stretched too thin, inevitably snapping toward each other.

            Their first night together was the winter solstice – something Nesta avoids thinking about because it was her sister’s birthday and she “really should have been out celebrating with her instead of going to town on an Illyrian prick” (to which Cassian responds “Feyre probably rode some Illyrian prick of her own,” earning a quick glare from his mate).

            Feyre hadn’t had a large celebration for her birthday – despite all of the changes that came with her newfound immortality, she still abhorred parties, _especially_ parties meant for her – but there was more than enough wine, as well as stronger, sweeter drinks, as the Inner Circle began their celebrations at a cozy little tavern and, later, made their unsteady way back to the townhouse to enjoy themselves away from the still-awed gazes of the citizens of Velaris.

            Cassian and Nesta hadn’t made a secret of their relationship – even if they had, the others would have caught on – so Nesta didn’t try to stop herself from touching, kissing, and cuddling while they all talked and laughed with each other.

            When they went to bed in the wee hours of the night, neither of them were tired, and more than alcohol was buzzing in their veins. A lingering look was all that it took.

            Within moments, Cassian was against the wall, Nesta’s hands under his shirt as she kissed him hungrily. He made a vulnerable little noise as her lips strayed to his neck.

            “Nes...” His hands moved up her body slowly, relishing the feel of her against him. “Bed?”

            She nodded a little, pulling him by the shirt to lead him to bed, going by feel. She laid back, pulling him over her. Cassian trailed kisses along her jaw, down to her neck before he lifted her slightly to unzip her dress and push it down past her shoulders. He placed kisses along her collarbone, down to her chest. Nesta’s ran her fingers through his hair, drawing a soft purr from him.

            “You and your purring,” she murmured with a soft chuckle, holding his body to her with her legs and kissing him surprisingly gently.   

            Cassian returned the kiss and worked his way back down, pulling down Nesta’s dress as he went. She squirmed under his touch, biting her lip to keep from moaning. The garment fell to the floor and Cass kissed the inside of her thigh, smirking at the slight shudder that wracked his mate’s body.

            She huffed a little and guided his head to the source of her desperation. “Please.”

            He eagerly obliged, pressing his tongue against her clit and dragging it down slowly, resulting in a low, languid moan from her. Her fingers wound into his hair, giving him no other choice but to stay down – as if he wanted to be anywhere else.

            He continued, figuring out which spots made her squirm, how to tease her after bringing her _so_ _close_. Nesta’s fingers would tighten in his hair when he backed off and she’d whine, sounding so needy that he had to continue.

            As he brought her closer, her thighs tensed and her moans grew more eager. “ _Please_ , Cassian,” she breathed as he started backing off again. “Please, please I need it.” She was shaking as she arched toward his mouth.

            Thankfully, Cassian did as she asked and she shattered, her moan more of a soft keen as she welcomed the waves of pleasure crashing into her again and again and then subsiding. She was mildly aware of him kissing his way back up her body and lying next to her.

            “When I can feel my legs again,” she murmured. “you’re in for it.”

            He just chuckled and traced small circles into her skin with his thumb as she came down. He was almost certain that she had fallen asleep when she rolled onto her side, facing him, draping her leg over his hip and pulling him closer.

            “How many people have you slept with?”

            “When I thought about sexy talk, I didn’t have my own sexy-times in mind.”

            “That many?”

            “Five hundred years is a long time.”

            “And none of those were... Yours.” She hadn’t gotten used to the word mate quite yet.

            “Obviously not, if you’re here... There weren’t any humans that caught your fancy?”

            “There wasn’t a human alive worthy of me. At first, I thought that would extend to Illyrian men too, but alas.” She gave a little grin and kissed the side of his mouth.

            “I hope you weren’t planning on wearing me out with kisses and sweetness, because, while appreciated, we’d be here for years.”

            “I’m sure you’d get tired of my voice.”

            “I mean, maybe. But it isn’t every day that Nesta Archeron chooses to compliment those beneath her.”

            She rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up. You’re beneath no one.”

            “Except you, right now.” Sure enough, during their conversation, Nesta had shifted so she was on top of him, propping herself up on her elbows so she could maintain eye-contact.

            She just smirked and kissed him, pressing into him as he wrapped his arms around her. She moved so they were both sitting up and she rolled her hips slowly against the arousal that had begun to press against her.

            Cassian moaned against her lips and he gripped her hips, attempting to guide them, attempting to receive more friction...

            “Ah-uh,” Nesta chuckled breathlessly. “I get to be in control now.”

            “But -” Another slow roll of her hips silenced him.

            She pulled his shirt over his head, placing kisses along his collarbone. “Lay down.” He obeyed, and she moved so she could pull his pants off of him. Teasingly, she kissed down his body, stopping just above the waistband of his boxers. She shushed him when his hips moved upward – not quite of his own accord – and pulled the boxers off, slowly. She paused just long enough to look him over, admire. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him naked, but it was still a remarkable sight, all muscle, toned, strong. All hers.

            She straddled him again and rocked her hips against him. He gripped her hips again, but made no move to try to control how she was moving; if anything, he was lost in enjoying it.

            She moved so she could take him in and they moaned together. She gripped one of his hands against her hip as she rode him, her movements slow, clumsy.

            “You’re safe,” Cassian reminded her gently, kissing her hand. He had figured out that she needed to be reminded of that fact when she allowed herself to be vulnerable. “I’ve got you.”

            She nodded once, moaning softly. “Is this good?”

            “You’re perfect.”

            She relaxed at that, feeling the movements more than thinking, building a rhythm.

            Their gasps and moans filled the space around them, despite how hard they tried to keep quiet. Nesta rested her forehead against Cassian’s shoulder, her noises matching his in desperation as she chased both of their climaxes.

            Cassian came first, his moans low, his fingers digging into her skin where he held her. He spurred her to her own, her moans blending in with his, muffled against his neck.

            They laid together in silence, more than content to just feel the other against them. After a few, long, peaceful moments Nesta mumbled – “Did you feel that?”

            She could feel his nod.

            “Mm...” She kissed his cheek. “Good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly thought I would have finished this back in december, but alas.   
> Hopefully the wait was worth it?

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be one long fic, but the semester finally caught up with me and started beating my butt, so we're here. The title's a working one - I just wanted to post this so I'd be motivated to finish it.


End file.
